Six Brothers, Two Human Girls
by Kalafina94
Summary: Individual one-shots dedicated entirely to the Sakamaki brothers. Ayato, Subaru, Raito, Shu, Reiji, Kanato. A chapter dedicated entirely to that brother. Taking all requests and ideas for the brothers and any OC that wishes to be featured. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Yea, I bet more than half the people who even read my piece o' shit stories thought I was dead. Fear not! I'm not dead. I've just been stalking around Fanfiction looking for good stuff to read in my free time at school. And I've just been losing my ideas for my stories like water going down a drain. I really should learn to be more organized...**

**Ha, yea, no. The day that happens, Hell will probably freeze over. Doesn't mean I won't try! xD **

**This a free-reign story, meaning that if you ask, I will add in a chapter with one of your OC's and whatever Sakamaki brother you would like! I'll even do a Mukami chapter if that's what you want. It just means that I'll have to do thorough research since I don't know a lot about the Mukami brothers. xD Other than that, it'll mainly be chapters of my OC, Akira, or Yui, whom I find precious, but in desperate need of a backbone.**

**Anyway, enjoy this first chapter! **

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**The Temperamental 1st Year**

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"Oh, for the love of God."

I looked around, eyebrow twitching uncontrollably when there was not a living soul to be seen. Honestly, I had only been here for ten minutes and I was already lost. That lady at the office had said that the school was literally like one giant square and I guess in a sense it was, but she had neglected to mention the many different stairwells that littered around every corner and how every hallway and door looked the same to me.

I glanced down at the map in my hands and struggled to make sense of it. The office lady had tried drawing a red line that would lead to my first class, but the starting and ending point was really confusing me and I couldn't remember which direction the office even was after all the turns I took. I turned it upside down, then sideways, then back to the front again before sighing in defeat and crumpling the stupid thing and shoving it into my pocket.

"And this is why you don't let the newbie wander around by herself," I muttered sarcastically, picking my bag up and throwing it back over my shoulders. "She's only going to get lost and die of starvation and dehydration after wandering around this blasted building for who knows how long and be found by school officials as she's perfecting the image of a shriveled up mummy."

I continued to mumble under my breath as I walked down the hallway, glancing around in the hopes that some random student will be out walking around and will help me get to class. Though that idea wasn't exactly likely after sitting in the Dean's office and hearing him list off and explain every single rule that the school had earlier today. Rules were more strict here than they were at my grandparents' house and that was saying something since my grandfather lived by military laws and made everyone in his house live under it with him.

_How any sane person can get up at the ass-crack of dawn everyday is beyond me. _

My shoes made soft tapping sounds on the golden-brown wooden floor as I admired the sheer beauty of this school. It really was top class. Everything here was something either extremely expensive or so delicately made that it looked like it would crack if you so much as grazed it with your fingers. The fancy lights that hung from the ceiling were bright and illuminated every corner and crevice that the school offered. The beige walls were clean and lacked any dirt that always seemed to accumulate on school walls from dirty hands or clumsy students.

Realizing that I was starting to pass the many glass windows that made up this school, I peeked outside, stopping in place. It was still dark out, but nearby street lights that made a neat line down the main walkway made it easy for my weak eyes to see outside. I had initially been displeased to find out that Ryoutei Academy was a night school. No teenager liked having their sleeping schedule screwed with so vastly and I was no different. It helped that I was night owl and could easily switch sleeping schedules when I was first told about the school.

A strange smell suddenly assaulted my senses and I tilted my head, curiously sniffing the air. Following the smell, I only needed to turn a corner before a wave of heat pressed down on my body. Huffing at the stifling heat, I peered through a window and found the source of the smell and horrible humidity that suddenly permeated the air.

"A swimming pool?" I gaped in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me." Locating the door that led inside, I was surprised to find that it was unlocked. I frowned. You'd think they'd keep better security for expensive things that aren't currently being used.

The floors were slick with water and I had to walk slowly to keep from sliding all over the place. I had to grab numerous pool chairs to keep from falling on more than one occasion. The water was pure and glistening cleanly and the blue swimming lines were clearly visible. Putting my bag down in a chair and crouching down carefully, I stuck my hand into the water and smiled widely. The temperature was perfect for a comfortable swim.

_Damn shame I don't have a bathing suit. _

"What are you doing?" I screeched at the sudden voice behind me, jumping to my feet. How had someone walked up behind me without me hearing them?! My foot slipped over the edge of the pool and I could only squeak in horror at the approaching water before falling in face-first. The dull, resounding splashing sound reverberated in my ears as I quickly sunk to the bottom of the surprisingly deep pool, my cheeks puffed out in an attempt to keep air in my body. I was suddenly thankful for my smart decision of putting my bag down instead of carrying it with me like I normally would.

Looking up from my suspended position at the bottom of the pool, a shimmering figure gazed down at me. My vision reddened with anger when I saw that he made absolutely no move to save me. I could only just make out something white and maybe a red gleam before I suddenly exhaled. Bubbles erupted from my mouth and I clapped my hands over my mouth in surprise, my lungs burning fiercely at the lack of oxygen.

Scrambling to straighten my legs, I tensed my feet as best as I could against the bottom and pushed myself up. The sudden lurch surprised me even though I had planned it and I inhaled a huge amount of water despite my attempts not to. My head finally broke the surface and I immediately burst into a coughing fit, spluttering and splashing around noisily as I tried to find something to grab. My hands found the pool's edge and I latched onto it desperately, pulling myself up halfway so my torso rested on the edge.

Pants and heaves escaped my lips as I tried to control my breathing, gasping as I choked on nasty chlorine water. My new uniform clung to my form uncomfortably and I was almost positive I had lost a shoe in the water when I had first fallen in. I really didn't want to go back into the water and get it, either.

"What the hell is your problem?" The same voice that had startled me snapped. I glared at boy—he had _white _hair. Who the hell had white hair unless they were old?!—and he merely glared back, not even fazed. The little brat even had the nerve to cross his arms at me and give me a look that clearly said he was impatient and was waiting for me to answer his question!

"My problem?!" I sputtered angrily. "You shouldn't have snuck up on me like that!"

"Maybe you should've been paying more attention," He snidely remarked, lips pulled down into an angry grimace. His fingers clenched tightly into fists and he shoved them into the crook of his arms.

"Excuse me if I'm not the most observant person there ever was," I snapped at him, struggling to pull myself up out of the water. I never did have a lot of upper body strength and my wet clothes weren't exactly helping me. Flexing my arms, I lowered myself back into the water slightly and pulled myself up, only to lose my grip on the ledge. I yelped loudly before falling back into the water. I came back up cursing a storm and glowering at anything my eyes landed.

"You're really pathetic, you know that, right?" The boy insulted casually, eyebrow arched as he stared down at me.

I scowled at him. "Instead of just standing there staring at me, why don't you just help me out of here so I can leave and never have to see you again?" I had successfully managed to get my stomach over the ledge, but couldn't get that extra push to pull my legs out of the water, too.

He scoffed in a degrading manner and turned his nose up at me, staring down at my amber eyes with his garnet ones. "You're the one that fell in. Pull yourself out."

I growled at the audacity of this brat. I swear to God, if he was in my year and we had any classes together, I may just end up killing this kid. "You're a right asshole, ya know that?" I snarled, my accent creeping into my words. I grunted as my legs flailed around in the water, struggling to get some type of momentum going.

This was just embarrassing. I didn't even know this kid and here he was watching me struggle just to get out of a pool. I could tell that he found it amusing, too, even if he refused to smile openly at my misery. I just knew the smug bastard was laughing at me mentally since he just continued to stand near my flopping form.

I saw his booted feet—holy _damn, _those were some stylish shoes and I desperately had to find out where he got them cause I might just buy me a pair—shuffle in place in an awkward manner before a loud snarl was heard. I didn't even have a second to figure out why he had made that sound when large hands wrapped easily around my forearms and yanked me out of the water roughly. I squawked at his rough treatment, but didn't verbally complain when he set me down harshly a couple feet away from the poolside.

_Holy shit, this guy is strong. _I wasn't exactly fat—if anything, I was far too skinny for my mother's apparent tastes—but I had highly doubted that this guy's lanky, but slightly muscular form, could even lift me five inches off the ground, much less out of a pool and when my body was completely weighed down with water.

Now that I wasn't hovering around in the water, standing next to him made me feel very small. He was tall. Much taller than my pathetic height. He also looked very pissed. His red eyes were narrowed at me and he was scowling so fiercely at me like he had just caught me murdering a puppy or something. He looked about five seconds away from putting his fist through a wall.

"Thank you," I reluctantly mumbled to him. His replying snort made me twitch and I was highly tempted to just fling my arm and slap him across the face for his rudeness. That'll be the last time I ever reply to him!

"Whatever," He grumbled, walking away with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Grumbling under my breath at the rudeness that was the white-haired kid, I angrily started squeezing water out of my hair, wringing the very dark cobalt strands in a strangling grip. I heard a whoosh of wind before something collided with my head. I fumbled with the _soft _fabric on my head and yanked it off, staring at what I now knew to be a towel.

"That'll probably be more effective," He said sarcastically, opening the door up halfway before turning his head to look back at me. "Unless you're incapable of that, too?" The pen that I had found on the floor underneath one of the chairs was nowhere close to hitting him as he walked, the pen hitting the wall by the door and falling to the ground pathetically. Growling, I hastily towel-dried my hair and grabbed my bag, cringing as my wet clothes rubbed uncomfortably against my skin.

It was just my luck that right after I walked out, a girl was strolling down the hall, carrying a small stack of books in her arms. I took a brief second to admire her pretty royal purple hair before asking her if she could lead me to the office to get a spare uniform. It took her a second to actually answer me since she seemed to be day-dreaming, but she eventually smiled kindly at me and led me to the office, introducing herself to be Imura Kira.

After thankfully receiving a new uniform after the initial confusion from the office lady as to why I was soaking wet, Kira thankfully took me to my first class. The class that I was now drastically late to thanks to a certain white-haired kid for scaring me into a swimming pool.

And it just so happened that right when I walked into the classroom, I spotted said white-haired kid sitting in the back of the room looking extremely bored as he leaned his chin on his palm.

"Why are you here?!" I exclaimed quite loudly and succeeded in embarrassing myself even further.

The boy, who I later learned from Kira to be named Subaru, very nearly face-planted into his desk and proceeded to spew a set of curses that instantly landed him a detention when the teacher recovered his initial shock over hearing such nasty words.

_Oh Lord, save me now. _

**That's the first chapter! I actually enjoy writing stuff about Subaru. xD He's a really fun character to write!**

**Question time: Which Sakamaki brother is your favorite and why? :) **

**Thanks for reading! Please leave any suggestions you may have in a review or you can just PM me. :)SecretKay, I've got your suggestion already being planned. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**So this is for one of my good friends, SecretKay! She's hopefully gonna be my roommate once I graduate, so be prepared for all kinds of craziness once that happens. xD She finds the idea of my OC having a verbal battle with Ayato hilarious, so I decided to humor her and lo and behold! New chapter is made. xD Personally, I'm neutral with Ayato, but I will admit that he does have some good points. My OCD just can't tolerate the way he dresses himself, though. **

**Please enjoy this new update~! Thank you! **

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**The Annoyance That Is Sakamaki Ayato**

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I don't know what made me want to start this little war that was going on between myself and Sakamaki Ayato. Really, it was just me in this war cause the poor idiot didn't know that I had even started a war with him. But that's beside the point.

It was secretly my mission to ruin Sakamaki Ayato's life. Or, well, his school life since I refused to go anywhere near his home where who knows what goes on in that house. For all the student body knows, they could be hiding bodies in their closets and keeping them as souvenirs! I'd rather not be next. That wasn't exactly my favored way of dying. I'd much rather go out in a more stylish way if I could, but seeing as how my latest prank on the Sakamaki brother was quite brave, I better hope some God up there loves me.

But let's be honest. It's not much of a secret anymore now that _someone_—ahem, _Kira_—had to go and hint to the red-head that it was me that was apparently out to get him. That traitor. I'm pretty sure that if she hadn't blabbed to him, I could've pulled at least another month's worth of pranks on him before he started pointing the finger at me.

My opinion on Ayato wasn't exactly the highest. He was annoying, always giving nicknames to anyone he comes across and his perverted ways were always getting more than a little out of hand. Most of his nicknames were quite offensive, too. Poor Yui had to be called _Chichinashi _of all things and his _creative _name for me was a huge blow to my pride. I mean, how creative is _Chisai_? I know Ayato was more imaginative than that.

I had to give him props for Reiji-senpai's nickname, though. His older brother truly was obsessed with fancy tableware and he lived up to his "Tableware Otaku" nickname if what Yui told me was true. I nearly lost it the first time I watched Reiji-senpai actually bring in his own personal tableware during lunch one day. I almost couldn't believe it, but the longer I stared, the more I realized that his fancy silverware was actually there and that I wasn't imagining it.

I swear, the Sakamaki brothers only got weirder as the days go on. Or it could just be me going more and more insane and I'm starting to hallucinate things now.

I scowled at nothing in particular, glaring holes into my teacher's back as he wrote meaningless notes on the chalkboard in his chicken scratch handwriting. From the desk to my left, Kira glanced over at me, giving me a sly look when I looked over at her from the corner of my eye.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked lowly, blinking at me. Her tone was completely innocent and curious, but I was getting the impression that she couldn't care less if I was mad at her. Not that I could anyway. She was one of the few friends I had here, so it'd be bad if I got mad at her.

I gave a very un-ladylike snort, tapping my pen on the blank sheet of notebook paper on my desk boredly. "I don't really care that you told Ayato anymore." I was somewhat disappointed, but that would disappear as soon as I saw my latest prank was brought to light. I smirked lightly, pleased. "I'm really just excited to see Ayato's reaction."

Kira tilted her head at me curiously. I only just opened my mouth to tell her my latest evil concoction when the teacher called my name in his nasally voice.

"Kobayashi-san." I immediately straightened in my seat a little bit, giving the teacher half my attention as his narrowed eyes stared at me from his position by the board. He tapped the board with his piece of chalk. "What event sparked the beginning of World War I?"

He looked so smug, like he was so sure of himself that he had caught me when I wasn't paying attention. I tilted my head to the side, contemplating the question that I already knew the answer to before smiling innocently at my teacher. "The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia, sir."

The smug lines instantly smoothed out and he stared at me blankly before nodding his head and turning away, continuing his lesson on American History. Kira giggled at the disgruntled teacher.

"You should stop teasing and leading people on like that, Akira," Kira chastised despite the smile on her face.

I shrugged. "We'll see. Oh, are we still walking home tonight after school? Or do you still have practice tonight?"

"Sensei actually cancelled practice for tonight," Kira admitted. She looked over at the board and quickly wrote down the new notes that had been written. I continued to watch her, waiting for her to continue. She'd give me her notes later, anyway. She turned her attention back to me a minute later. "She said something about her brother going overseas for the military and she wanted to see him off."

I grimaced. "That's harsh. Thank God my family isn't about that military life."

She nodded, looking thoughtful. "My older sister was actually thinking about going into the military," She confessed. "Mom's all for it. Dad has been trying to convince her otherwise. " She snickered. I blinked, surprised. Kira was...surprisingly aware today. I didn't recall a single time tonight where I had to work to get her attention back on me when I was talking to her. Strange.

Kira suddenly snapped her fingers and I watched her eyes light up as she seemingly remembered something important. "You never told me what you did to prank Ayato-senpai, Akira."

Blinking some more, I dug around in my bag and held up a tiny, oval-shaped bottle. My friend squinted at the label before giving me a disbelieving look. "Food coloring? What could you possibly do with this stuff?"

I merely smirked and took the bottle back, twirling it around my fingers expertly.

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"_You._"

At the strangled hiss behind me, I instinctively turned around to find out who was speaking to me. I immediately smirked wickedly.

Standing a few feet away from me and looking thoroughly pissed off was Ayato, a vicious snarl marring his face as he scowled at me. Behind him, Yui gazed between us curiously, her hands clasped daintily in front of her with her school bag hanging from her fingers. Kira left my side and glided up to Yui, bypassing Ayato without a glance and gently bumping her hip into the blond's. Yui smiled brightly at her and returned the gesture playfully. Ayato otherwise ignored the two girls, piercing me with his serpentine green eyes with unwavering attention.

Noting that Ayato's brothers were nowhere in sight despite the school day being over, I decided that today was indeed my day.

"Ayato-senpai," I greeted sweetly, giving him a disarming smile. "Good evening. Were you and Yui-san just about ready to leave?" I knew he wasn't, but I couldn't resist the temptation of screwing with him just a little bit more before he confronted me about my prank.

I relished in the way his eyebrow twitched violently at my attempt of sweet-talking him. "Yours Truly already knows your acting, _Kobayashi_. Knock it off and explain yourself."

"What a surprise!" I exclaimed in mock surprise, completely ignoring the last part of his sentence. "The great _Ayato-sama _actually knows who I am, a mere commoner." My lips curled into the same wicked smirk from earlier. "I feel honored."

All around us, a couple students stopped to stare at the face-off between Ayato and I. A few of the girls shot me dirty looks for even daring of talking to their beloved red-head, while a couple guys mumbled to themselves in groups of threes and not so discreetly pointing at us as if we were wild animals behind bars. Kira snickered into her hand and whispered into Yui's ear when the girl pulled on her uniform sleeve in confusion. Yui paled significantly and very nearly gaped at me in horror.

I grinned widely at her and waved.

_Twitch. _"Explain. Yourself," Ayato growled, twitching violently. He held up his hands and I saw that they were covered in fresh bandages. Something akin to worry began to gnaw at my gut. How did he hurt himself? Surely my prank didn't do that? "Why are my hands like this?!"

I arched an eyebrow at him, feigning confusion. "They're bandaged obviously. I see nothing wrong with them."

_Twitch. Twitch. _

_I wonder how he can twitch like that..._

He angrily ripped off his bandages and stomped towards me, shoving his hands into my face. I leaned back in surprise. "I know this is your doing!" Ayato accused loudly, dropping his preferred title. He must be really upset if he actually dropped it just like that. "What did you do to my hands?!"

Laughter broke out among the students, a loud obnoxious sound that drew in other students who had dawdled behind to see what was going on and to join us in our mirth. I was obviously one of them as I pulled back from Ayato and laughed at his misfortune. His hands, while thankfully not injured in anyway, were an _obnoxious _orange color. His fingers, his nails, and the skin all the way down to his wrist were all bright orange and shone pristinely like tanning lotion had just been applied. I was half-tempted to grab one and see if it really was as smooth as it looked.

"I see you used the sink in the Food Prep room," I said in between snickers, covering my mouth to muffle my laughter. "You should've used the upstairs bathroom by your homeroom class. Your hands would've been a nice yellow color."

"A-Akira-san," Yui snuck up slowly beside Ayato and stuttered nervously at his side, "w-what did you do to get his hands l-like this?" I dug into my side pocket in my blazer and pulled out the small bottle I had shown Kira earlier today. Ayato snatched the bottle from my hand and held it up to his face. He gave me a disbelieving, but furious look.

"_Food coloring? _You mixed _food coloring _in the soap dispenser in the Food Prep room?"

"Not just in the Food Prep room," I said slyly, wagging a finger at him. "All the soap dispensers on the 2nd Floor have large amounts of food coloring added to them just in case you decided not to wash your hands after cooking."

Kira paled at that and quickly looked down at her hands. "It only works if you use heaping amounts like our friend here does," I said, pointing a finger at Ayato. I gave him a wide grin. "It does come off, by the way. It just takes _a lot _scrubbing."

At this point, the red-head looked half ready to use me as a cleaning rag to get the stuff off of his hands. His face was curiously flushed and I realized that he was somewhat embarrassed for having fallen for the prank even though he had no idea what was coming. I felt a bit of guilt crawl into my stomach and I almost dropped my grin. Then I saw that he was still angry and I snipped the guilt bud right at the stem.

"You psychotic little brat," He growled.

That sentence was just _asking _for a smartass Akira comment. I grinned. "I prefer to be called _Chisai._"

I could've sworn I head something snap before Ayato let out a frustrated sound and jabbed a finger into my shoulder. "This isn't over, Kobayashi!" He stated, poking me with every word he said. "Yours Truly will definitely get revenge for this prank!"

_Hook, line, and sinker. _

"I eagerly look forward to it," I practically purred, looking at him through lowered eyelashes. He reeled back in shock before scowling and stomping away, hauling Yui away as he did so. I snickered into my hand as I watched him go. He really was just too good of a tease.

"You planned that," Kira commented. It wasn't a question. I nodded my head, pleased. She gave me a look. "You wanted him to challenge you like that?"

I shrugged and adjusted my bag. "It wasn't exactly how I wanted it to go, but it was close enough." An evil smirk flitted across my lips. "At least now I won't have to hold back now that I have his attention."

Kira smiled knowingly at me. It took me a second to realize that she had taken my words differently than from what I had intended. I blushed and spun on my heel, promptly storming off and ignoring her teasing calls as she hurried after me. She was crazy if she thought that I actually had romantic feelings for the red-headed Sakamaki brother.

_Not even in a million years. _

**Seriously. If you squint, you might see a little bit of flirting being thrown around here in the end. But it's barely there. Just barely. xD **

**Next chapter is for Miss. Quiet Harmony-Chan! She requested a certain purple-haired Sakamaki and I'm not gonna deny her that chapter since it's highly obvious that there aren't that many chapters of him in the DL fandom. Damn shame because he's an amazing character to write about. **

**Thank you for reading! Don't forget to review if you would like a request done! :) Have a nice day, lovelies~! **

**-KalafinaJ **


	3. Chapter 3

**So this was a request from Quiet Harmony-chan! I would highly recommend her story "Code for Survival"! It's a really good story if you love anything Diabolik Lovers and has some amazing character interpretation!**

**So, I've recently discovered that I have a new obsession with Azusa and Ruki Mukami. I don't know why. I don't know how. But I just do. And it's really bad because everytime I see a picture of Azusa, I get all giggly and fangirl for a couple minutes. And when I find a picture of Ruki, I look like I'm five seconds away from drooling at the picture cause he's so hot. It's rather embarrassing. xD **

**Anyway, please enjoy this chapter! Thank you! :D **

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**Sakamaki Kanato's Expert Opinion**

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"This is a bad idea."

"That's the third time you've said that."

"And I'm gonna keep saying it until you understand that this is a _really _bad idea!"

A snort. "You'll be _fine._" The exasperation in that sentence was easily heard and I felt guilt well up in my stomach for my childish refusal. "It's not like anyone from school is going to be there. Nobody comes to this part of town anyway since it's normally so expensive."

"It's not my classmates that I'm worried about," I grumbled petulantly, crossing my arms and leaning back into my comfy limo seat. A cool breeze blew in from Kira's slightly opened window and ruffled my messy hair. My attempts at taming it this morning hadn't done much. My sudden wake-up call hadn't even given me the chance to let me take my daily morning shower, so now I probably looked like a bum wearing my wrinkled pants and half-buttoned up shirt. My aunt would be mortified beyond belief if she knew that I was walking around public looking like I just rolled out of bed.

"What could you possibly be worried about?" Kira sighed, folding her legs primly and smoothing her pretty white skirt and blouse of non-existent wrinkles. "We're just going dress shopping. It's not like I'm asking you to move to America with me to go hunt witches and werewolves."

"That's over-rating things, Kira," I quipped. "Those things don't even exist. Besides, dress shopping is just as bad as hunting fictional creatures."

Kira rolled her eyes. "Please. You're just saying that cause you don't want to go shopping with me."

"It's not just that," I protested. "I just don't like shopping in general. It's tiresome to me." I leaned more comfortably into my seat, pulling my sunglasses down from my head and over my eyes. I didn't want her to see the laughing gleam that I just _knew _was shining in my eyes. "Besides, I did promise you I'd go with you to look for a dress for prom."

"We aren't just looking for a dress for me," She warned. "You're getting one, too."

"I know. That's why it's just you and I today because you can get away with a whole lot more concerning certain dresses for the both of us without your mother breathing down your neck." The beautiful silver-haired Imura was really a force to be reckoned with. I only needed one glance at her and a single sentence to be said before I knew where Kira got her stubbornness from. I considered it a good thing that Kira's mother was busy today since the woman had made it her personal goal to make me more feminine.

"And yet, you're making this big of a fuss," Kira remarked sarcastically, lips curling in a mock sneer. "The way you're phrasing things, you're acting like I'm leading you to your death."

"You might as well be." Kira's leg lashed out to kick my knee as she grabbed a bottled water from the cooler beside her. I hissed under my breath and glared at her. She ignored me and took a sip from her bottle. Grumbling foul words under my breath, I snatched a bottle for myself and chugged half the contents in one go. I carelessly tossed the bottle back into the cooler to keep cold, which caused Kira to frown disapprovingly at me. I arched an eyebrow at her tauntingly and lazily stretched. She rolled her eyes at me.

"We're almost there, Young Miss," Our driver called from his position in the front. Kira thanked him and eagerly scooted closer to the window to look outside. We were rarely allowed to go into town since we had school at night and we slept mostly during the day, so our visit to town today meant a lot more to Kira than it did to me. My grandmother dragged me shopping with her regardless if I was tired or not. Kira had a more sympathetic mother, who left Kira be so that she could catch up on much needed sleep. I was somewhat jealous, but then I wasn't. It was a strange feeling to be both jealous and unaffected at the same time.

It looked like we had reached the center of town. There were many family restaurants and clothes shops that displayed cute outfits or the latest fashion dotted down the street, colorful signs advertising interesting products to the locals and tourists that were strolling by. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming here. People walked leisurely on the sidewalk, avoiding groups of girls window shopping and looking like they were having the time of their lives with their children close by. Laughter floated in through the open window and filled my ears, prompting a small smile to pull at my lips. It was a relatively peaceful day with barely a cloud in the sky and the sun shining brilliantly down on the small town.

We passed a nice-looking café that instantly caught my attention. Wooden, circular tables that looked brand new were set outside in the spacious area in front of the café door and were occupied by a couple of people enjoying what I assumed to be coffee and small desserts. A sugary aroma wafted into the car and instantly had me craving the sweets that were being served. I craned my neck to keep the tiny establishment in sight before we turned a corner and it was gone.

"We can always go there once we're done shopping," Kira offered kindly, noticing the disappointed look on my face. "It does look like a nice place to relax." I beamed at her appreciatively and thanked her. She laughed at my enthusiasm to visit the little café. Maybe this shopping ordeal wouldn't be too bad.

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"Stop glaring, Akira," Kira chided, leading me by the arm into the store. The entire store smelled like some flowery perform that was almost to the point of being overbearing, but helped give the fancy shop an appeal that seemed tasteful. It made me want to scrunch up my nose or invest in a breathing mask. It feels like I'm bathing in the perfume that was no doubt sprayed not too long ago. Kira didn't seem bothered by it. She didn't even seem to notice the smell since she was so focused on the back of the store where all the dressing rooms were.

My glare was directed more so at the dresses that were on full display in the window display. The white mannequins were decked out in tasteful colors ranging from white to yellow, but the _style _of the dresses were something that was definitely something left to be desired. Many had slits in the legs that left little leg and hip to be covered and the rest had openings in the chest area that had me thinking that it was better off to go in the nude since there wasn't any point in even wearing the dress.

"I refuse to wear these dresses," I deadpanned to Kira, tempted to wrench my hand from her grasp and walk right out of the shop. I wasn't one for breaking promises, but I'd break this one in a heartbreak. If I was going to prom, I was going for comfort. Not for displaying my body to the school population.

Kira hummed back at me in reply, her short heels tapping lightly on the wooden floor as she paused to examine a white dress that captured her attention before moving on without taking the dress off the rack. Guess she didn't like it. I grumbled under my breath as she released my wrist to go through a rack that had a huge variety of colorful dresses, pulling a black dress halfway out to get a better look. She nodded approvingly before taking it down and draping it over her arm. I shuffled behind her awkwardly, following her around the rack as she pulled out three more dresses that seemed to have passed her mental test.

Shopping really wasn't my thing. I didn't care for fashion. Why would I when I had to wear a uniform to school? And I rarely went out to begin with, so I rarely saw the need to dress up. Mom usually did all the shopping for me and she would sometimes come home with a new shirt or a pair of pants that she thought I would like. Most of the shirts were either t-shirts and the pants were sweats or leggings. I had the random blouse and khakis in my closet, but those were barely touched unless I had an interview or I was required to dress up for a party or something.

"Can I help you two with something?" I looked over my shoulder where the voice had come from. A pretty girl with brown eyes was smiling at the two of us, her black hair short and styled in a pixie cut. Her hands were folded in front of her and her store uniform was perfect with nothing out of place. Her name tag was pinned to the left side of her chest. It said her name was Anna.

_Perfectionist. _

Kira grinned brightly at the girl, oblivious to my snide thoughts and holding the dresses out for her to see. "We're looking for prom dresses," She chirped. "Can we get into some dressing rooms by chance?"

Anna blinked once at Kira's sing-song tone before her smile widened. "Of course!" She beckoned for us to follow her. "Our dressing rooms are in the back of the store where our array of mirrors are conveniently displayed. We already have a group back there and I must say, they are quite...interesting." She laughed pleasantly at that. I cocked my head, curious. We had just reached the first archway that led into the dressing rooms before I froze in place at the angry voice echoing from inside.

"I am not wearing this dress to a dinner party, Raito!" A female voice snapped impatiently. A very _familiar _laugh trilled a second later followed by the sound of something being smacked. A snort was heard from a third party followed by quiet mutterings. Our guide giggled into her hand at the voices.

I swear to God I felt my soul fly right out of my mouth at that name. Kira paled slightly and shook her head at me, daring me to run. I scowled furiously and crossed my arms, screeching every swear word I knew in any language that I could speak in my head at my own misfortune. Out of all the people in the world to run into, it had to be _them_.

The first thing I saw was the girl standing on a circular uprising in front of a semi-circle of mirrors in a navy dress, turning her slim figure this way and that and pursing her lips in obvious discomfort at the high slit in the dress on her left leg. She flicked her light blue tresses out of her face and scowled at the group sitting on plush couches behind her. A redhead with lightning green eyes laughed at her look and played with the rim of his fedora with one long-fingered hand. The purple-haired boy holding a Teddy Bear looked like he wanted to roll his eyes at the boy and ignored the girl's look sent towards him. Both were in school uniforms adjusted to their personal tastes.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" My voice pierced the air without mercy and without my permission. Kira face-palmed. The girl jumped at my voice and spun around, pale brown eyes widening in surprise. Both boys looked up at us in mild curiosity. Green eyes widened in delight at seeing me.

"Kujaku-chan!" I twitched at the horrid nickname the school's playboy had given me. I still couldn't quite decide if it was worse than Ayato's horrendous nickname for me. Raito sat up from his slumped position against the couch, bumping against his brother's elbow. Purple eyes narrowed immediately in anger and he snarled at his brother, protectively cradling his mutilated Teddy Bear.

"Be careful," He said angrily, purple eyes flashing dangerously with hysteria and fury. "You almost hit Teddy, Raito!"

Raito immediately waved a hand at his brother, dismissing the warning and making his brother glower at him. "I'm sure Raito didn't mean it, Kanato," The girl, whom I knew to be Owari Tsuna, a second year, soothed the angry boy. She carefully stepped down from the rising and gathered the bottom of her dress so that her bare feet were visible. She gave the purple-haired boy a smile. "He wasn't hurt, was he?"

_Did she really ask him if his Teddy Bear was really alright?_

Kanato's face smoothed out and he smiled down at his bear. "Teddy says he is alright. Thank you for asking, Tsuna-san." She seemed to exhale a breath of relief and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why. Was he really that moody and temperamental that she had to actually be careful with her words?

Kanato didn't really seem like he was any real threat to people. He was rather short compared to his brothers, but since he wasn't standing, I wasn't sure if he was still taller than Tsuna or myself. He looked like a doll with his frilly white-collared undershirt and youthful appearance. The dark bags under his eyes, however, spoke of many sleepless nights.

_Probably because his brothers are constantly making so much noise or they're constantly fighting. _

"I'm going to go try on one of the other dresses," Tsuna announced, already walking back to her dressing room. Raito whined in disappointment, Tsuna giving him a parting glare before she firmly shut her door.

I jumped when Kira suddenly pounced in front of me and shoved her armful of dresses at me. "These are for you," She said, sounding pleased with herself. "Go and try them on! And you better come out once you're done changing!" She wagged a reprimanding finger in my face. "I want to see the dress for myself since I know you couldn't give two shits."

"Would you like some assistance looking for any more dresses, Miss?" Anna asked, completely ignoring Kira's swearing and smiling pleasantly at her. Kira grinned and nodded, thanking Anna and sending me off to my dressing room to try on some dresses. She left me with a verbal promise of bringing back more dresses for me if the ones currently in my arms didn't work out for me.

I felt like crying a river. _Kill me now. This was such a mistake. _

**. . .**

**. .**

**.**

"I don't know about this one, Kira," I said uncertainly as I examined the dress in the circle of mirrors. It was a pretty pale yellow that I found to be easy on the eyes and went down to my knees. Layers of lacey material were sewn underneath the yellow and rubbed softly against my legs. The dress was strapless and hugged my upper body moderately and flared out at my hips. It was comfortable, but I felt like an out of place ballerina. It didn't feel or look like a prom dress either.

Kira hummed into her hand, walking around me and examining the dress with a critical eye. "It does look a bit out of place," She said, agreeing with my thought process, "but the color does look nice on you and does wonders for your figure. You don't like it?"

"It's the wrong style," Kanato interrupted before I could voice my thoughts. We both turned to look at him. He was sitting by himself on the other plush couch, frowning at us and clutching Teddy to his chest. He gave me a critical once-over. "The color's off as well."

Kira turned back to look at me, trying to see what Kanato was seeing. "You think?"

"Her skin is too tan and her hair is too dark for such a light color," He said bluntly. My insides went cold at his words and heat flushed up my neck into my cheeks. I had the sudden urge to tear the dress off and find something different. "It's too out of place, anyway."

"Yes," Kira said slowly, eyes brightening in understanding. "I think I get what you're saying now." She ushered me back to my room just as Tsuna walked out in a beautiful turquoise dress that did wonders for her hair and eyes. She smiled at me and walked out to show the others. I heard Kira exclaim at the older girl's dress before I closed my door. I hurriedly tore off the yellow monstrosity and put it back on its hanger. I gathered all the paler dresses and put them on the hook outside my door, turning back around to examine the remaining dresses. I sighed and reluctantly pulled on a body-fitting black dress.

The next half hour was spent trying on dresses that were very dark in color and far more complicated to put on then the party dresses I tried on earlier. Raito was no help whatsoever, making perverted comments and teasing Tsuna while she glared at him for it. Kira was a good help, but Kanato was surprisingly more insightful than her, bluntly saying whether my current dress was nice or not. There was only one bad moment and that was when he called a ruby dress with strings in the back to hold it up and my back entirely exposed a "whorish dress". Kira wasn't amused at that one and I quickly got out of the dress before he could say anything more insulting.

"This is ridiculous," I groaned, collapsing on my stomach beside Kanato and Kira. Raito had dragged Tsuna off to go find other dresses. Tsuna had no say in the matter as she was practically dragged away by the laughing redhead. "I've tried on practically every dress in this store and none of them are good enough!"

"There's gotta be something," Kira said optimistically, though the frustration was clear in her voice. She stood up. "I'm gonna go look some more. Maybe I missed something."

"I think I might actually be of some help to you right now, Miss," Anna suddenly stated before Kira could walk away. The girl had a wide grin on her face and she was almost buzzing with excitement and jitters. She waved her hand at Kira. "Follow me, please."

"Stay there, Akira," Kira said as she walked away. I scowled at her for the unnecessary command. What did she think I was? A dog?

"That girl is very loud, Teddy," Kanato whispered to his bear, holding its arms gently. "She's like Ayato, isn't she?"

I smirked. "Don't let her hear you say that. Kira doesn't like being told that she's loud."

He frowned and scrunched his eyebrows up. "She is ignorant, then."

"Your bear is very handsome, Kanato-senpai," I commented, changing the subject before it turned into something awkward. "Where did you get him?"

A serene, if somewhat bitter smile, marred his lips. His eyes seemed to glow with fondness as he stared at the bear. "He was a gift," He said simply. I didn't push him to elaborate more. Something told me he wouldn't take my questions very well.

"He looks very well cared for," I praised and I really meant it. The bear looked like it was brand new even though it was obvious that it wasn't. The sewn eye patch over the bear's left eye was worn and somewhat dirty, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

When Kanato stiffened minutely, I had the overwhelming feeling that I had just said something wrong. "Why are you so interested in him?" He asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing and casting dangerous shadows around the purple orbs. "You're planning to take him from me, aren't you?! I won't let you!" I nearly fell out of my seat when he suddenly surged to his feet and glowered down at me from his taller advantage.

"Woah, woah!" I said frantically, waving my hands. "I didn't say that I wanted Teddy! I was just—"

"Don't speak about him so familiarly!" Kanato snapped, hands clenching into fists. "You don't know him well enough to be able to speak with him like your friends!"

Dread began to form in my gut and, thoroughly confused at his sudden mood swing, I forced my body to relax. Dad had always told me that in the face of a potential predator, it was best to make oneself look harmless and not so threatening so that the predator doesn't get agitated or angry. Kanato was definitely the predator here and he was definitely angry with me about something I had accidentally said.

"I'm sorry," I said lowly, looking him in the eyes with as much sincerity as I could. "I didn't mean to sound so conceited." I wanted to gag at that, but kept the act going since it seemed to settle Kanato's temper tantrum. "I was just trying to be friendly."

Kanato scrutinized me closely for an agonizingly long minute before he found what he was looking for. The manic look on his face eased into something more gentle and I tensed when he reached forward to grasp a strand of my hair and bring it to his bear. "Teddy says he forgives you," He said before pausing. He _sniffed _the air and looked down at my hair. He smiled. It wasn't a nice smile either.

_Where the hell is Akira and that clerk lady?! _

"Akira-san smells good," Kanato commented, leaning forward slightly to sniff me. I twitched and inched back a tiny bit. I couldn't ignore the fact that my face was probably bright red by now. _Okay. Weird upperclassman smelling me is totally normal. Yep. _

"Umm...thank you?" Might as well take it as a compliment.

"Kanato!" We both looked up to see Tsuna had come back into the room, dragging Raito by his ear. The redhead whined and moaned at Tsuna as he followed behind her, hunched over uncomfortably. I took secret pleasure in seeing the playboy in such a submissive position. Tsuna smiled at Kanato. "It's time to go back. We got everything we needed here." Kanato nodded and instantly backed away from me. He didn't wave goodbye or give me a parting glance as he left with his brother and Tsuna.

I huffed, annoyed with the the purple-haired Sakamaki. Well. That was rude.

I saw Kira come in with a huge shit-eating grin on her face and groaned. Today couldn't end faster.

**Yea...I kinda went overboard. Kanato is a favorite and he's just so adorable. xD I really like him! Sorry for the length! I liked everything here too much to cut anything. x(**

**Enjoy this new chapter! Thanks for reading! **

**-KalafinaJ **


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